Auburn Tigers football

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For current information on this topic, see 2008 Auburn Tigers football team

The Auburn Tigers football team represents Auburn University in college football as a member of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, competing in the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The current head coach, Tommy Tuberville, has led the Tigers since 1999. Auburn's Jordan-Hare Stadium has a capacity of 87,451, ranking as the ninth-largest on-campus stadium in the NCAA.

The Tigers played the first football game in the Deep South in 1892, with the program's first bowl appearance coming the 1936 season in the sixth Bacardi Bowl played in Havana, Cuba. As of 2007, AU Football has had 77 winning seasons, 34 bowl appearances, twenty-four 9+ win seasons, eleven undefeated seasons and ten conference championships. Auburn has played in the Southeastern Conference since its inception in 1933 and have won six SEC Conference Championships, and since the divisional realignment of the conference in 1992, six Western Division championships^[1] and three trips to the SEC Championship game.

[edit] Historical ranking

The College Football Research Center lists Auburn as the 14th best college football program in history^[2], with eight Auburn squads listed in Billingsley’s Top 200 Teams of All Time (1869-2006).^[3] The Associated Press poll statistics show Auburn with the 11th best national record of being ranked in the final AP Poll^[4] and 13th overall (ranked 470 times out of 970 polls since the poll began in 1936), with an average ranking of 11.11.^[5] Since the Coaches Poll first released a final poll in 1950, Auburn has 33 seasons where the team finished in the top 20 in both the AP and Coaches Polls.^[6]

Auburn has the 13th most wins in D-1A college football.^[7] In terms of winning percentage, Auburn ranks as the 8th most successful team in the past 25 years with a 71.7% win rate (214–83–5)^[8] and 12th over the last 50 years with 68.4% (386–176–10).^[9] Of the 93 current I-A football programs that been active since Auburn first fielded a team 116 years ago, Auburn ranks 14th in winning percentage over that period.^[10]

[edit] Heisman links

Two Auburn players, Pat Sullivan in 1971 and Bo Jackson in 1985, have won the Heisman Trophy. The Trophy's namesake, John Heisman, coached at Auburn from 1895 until 1899. Auburn is the only school where Heisman coached (among others, Georgia Tech and Clemson) that has produced a Heisman Trophy winner.

[edit] National champion teams

There have been a total of seven Auburn teams that have been awarded some form of "National Champions" title. The NCAA's website states that "the NCAA does not conduct a national championship in Division I-A football and is not involved in the selection process", but goes on to state that "a number of polling organizations provide a final ranking of Division I-A football teams at the end of each season". The NCAA website then lists four Auburn squads that have been named National Champions by at least one organization.^[11] Here is the complete list of the Auburn teams ranked No. 1 and some of the organizations that recognized them as National Champion:^[12]

• 1913 undefeated 8–0 team (Billingsley, James Howell)
• 1914 undefeated 8–0–1 team (James Howell)
• 1957 undefeated 10–0 team (Associated Press, Billingsley, Fleming, Football Research, Helms, James Howell, Massey Ratings, National Championship Foundation, Nutshell Sports, Poling, Sagarin, Sorensen, Williamson, David Wilson)
• 1958 undefeated 9–0–1 team (Montgomery Full Season Championship)
• 1983 11–1 team (ARGH, Billingsley, DKC, Eck, FACT, Fleming, Football Research, James Howell, Massey Ratings, New York Times, Nutshell Sports, Sorensen, Sparks Achievement, David Wilson)
• 1993 undefeated 11–0 team (Harry Frye, National Championship Foundation, Nutshell Sports, Sparks Achievement, David Wilson)
• 2004 undefeated 13–0 team (Darryl W. Perry, EFI, FansPoll, GBE, Hank Trexler, M Cubed)

The AP Poll did not begin selecting a champion until 1936 nor the AFCA Coaches Poll until 1950, so many national champion titles previous to those date were awarded retroactively. However during the 1910s, it is difficult to dispute the legitimacy of the Auburn titles. The undefeated 1913 and 1914 teams coached by Mike Donahue were some of the best defenses in Auburn history. In fact, the 1914 squad allowed zero points all season, outscoring opponents 193-0. The 1983 team featuring Bo Jackson went 11–1 and finished the season by beating Michigan 9-7 in the Sugar Bowl. The undefeated 2004 squad (13–0) finished second in the AP and Coaches Top 25 polls, but the team was awarded the 2004 Fanspoll.com People's National Champion title.^[13] Auburn University officially only claims the Associated Press (AP) National Championship of 1957^[14] (although the school does acknowledge the 1913, 1983, 1993 and 2004 titles in their media guide).^[15]

[edit] Seasons

[edit] 2008 season

Main article: 2008 Auburn Tigers football team

In 2008, Auburn will face non-conference opponents the UL - Monroe Warhawks, the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, the West Virginia Mountaineers, and the UT-Martin Skyhawks. All will be home games, except for the West Virginia game.

Due to the SEC's rotating schedule, Auburn will face the Tennessee Volunteers and the Vanderbilt Commodores in 2008 SEC play in addition to the permanent schedule of the other five SEC West teams and the Georgia Bulldogs.

Auburn has replaced both coordinators since the 2007 season. Tony Franklin was hired to transition the offense to the spread, and Paul Rhoads replaces former defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, who left to become the defensive coordinator for the Texas Longhorns.

[edit] 2007 season

Main article: 2007 Auburn Tigers football team

Auburn entered the 2007 season as the number 14 team according to the Coaches Poll and number 18 according to the AP Poll. The Tigers opened the season with a 23-13 win over the Kansas State of the Big12; however, in the two following weeks the Tigers were upset by the Big East's South Florida and by division opponent Mississippi State. With a week 4 win over New Mexico State followed by three straight SEC wins versus then-#3 Florida, Vanderbilt and Arkansas, the 2007 Tigers looked to salvage their season. Following a tough loss at final-#1 LSU, Auburn rebounded by beating Ole Miss and Tennessee Tech before suffering a loss at final-#2 Georgia. The Tigers won the Iron Bowl versus chief rival Alabama to end the regular season with an 8–4 record (5–3 in the SEC, finishing 2nd in the Western Division for the second straight year). The Tigers accepted a bid to play then-#15 Clemson in the 40th annual Chick-fil-A Bowl (formerly known as the Peach Bowl). Auburn defeated Clemson 23-20 in overtime to finish the season 9–4 and ranked #14 in the final poll, the team's fourth consecutive finish ranked in the top 15.

[edit] 2006 season

Main article: 2006 Auburn Tigers football team

[edit] 2005 season

Main article: 2005 Auburn Tigers football team

[edit] 2004 undefeated season

Main article: 2004 Auburn Tigers football team

[edit] Rivals

[edit] Iron Bowl

Main article: Iron Bowl

Auburn's rivalry with Alabama is termed the "Iron Bowl." The first meeting came in 1893, but the teams only played 15 times before the series was suspended in 1907. In 1948, the two schools finally agreed to renew the series, with the games to be played at the neutral Legion Field in Birmingham, where the game was played every year from 1948 through 1988. In 1989, Auburn hosted the first on-campus meeting, after which the series became a "home and home," with Auburn's home games being played in Auburn (with the exception of the 1991 game, which was played at Legion Field), and Alabama's home games being played at Legion Field until 2000, when Alabama moved their home games to Tuscaloosa.

Though Alabama holds the all-time edge at 38–33–1, the Tigers have won the last six meetings.

[edit] Georgia

Main article: Deep South's Oldest Rivalry

Georgia and Auburn compete in "The Deep South's Oldest Rivalry", dating back to 1892. The game was played in Piedmont Park in Atlanta, Georgia until 1903. It was played in Columbus, Georgia, from 1916 to 1958, except in 1929 and 1949, when the game was played in Athens, Georgia. In 1959, the series became an on-campus series.

The series is extremely close: Auburn holds a 53–50–8 lead in the series, but Georgia has outscored Auburn 1730-1685, a difference of only 45 points. Georgia has won the last two meetings by a combined margin of victory of 47 points.

[edit] LSU

Main article: Auburn-LSU rivalry

Auburn also has a very competitive football rivalry with the LSU Tigers. The last four games have been settled by a total of fourteen points. The two share more than just a mascot, as both have won at least a share of the SEC Western Division championship every year since 2000. Auburn won the SEC West title in 2000 and 2004; LSU won the SEC West title in 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2007, winning the tiebreaker over Auburn in 2001 and 2005.

The home team has won every year since 1999. While the series has no formal name, many of the games themselves have been named by the media, the most famous example being the Earthquake Game in 1988.

LSU holds the series lead 22-19-1.

[edit] Former rivals

Before the Southeastern Conference expanded and split into Eastern and Western divisions, Auburn had annual rivalries with SEC East powers Florida and Tennessee. Auburn was forced to stop playing Tennessee every year, and stopped playing Florida every year in 2002, when the SEC implemented two rotating opponents on the schedule. Since 2002, Auburn only plays each of these two teams four times every ten years unless they meet in the SEC Championship game. The Tigers lead both teams all-time with a 42–38–2 edge over Florida and 25–21–3 series with Tennessee.

Auburn also had long standing rivalries with two former conference foes: Georgia Tech before Tech left the SEC to join the Atlantic Coast Conference and Clemson dating back to 1899 when both teams competed in the SIAA. Auburn leads the Yellow Jackets 47–41–4, with Auburn also leading in the Clemson series 33–11–2 after winning the 2007 Chick-fil-A Bowl matchup.

[edit] Traditions

[edit] Tiger Walk

Before each Auburn home football game, thousands of Auburn fans line Donahue Avenue to cheer on the team as they walk from Sewell Hall (the athletes' dormitory) to Jordan-Hare Stadium. The tradition began in the 1960s when groups of kids would walk up the street to greet the team and get autographs. During the tenure of coach Doug Barfield, the coach urged fans to come out and support the team, and thousands did. Today the team, led by the coaches, walks down the hill and into the stadium surrounded by fans who pat them on the back and shake their hands as they walk. The largest Tiger Walk occurred on December 2, 1989, before the first ever home football game against rival Alabama—the Iron Bowl. On that day, an estimated 20,000 fans packed the one block section of road leading to the stadium. According to former athletic director David Housel, Tiger Walk has become "the most copied tradition in all of college football," although there are older pre-game walks at Stanford and Williams College.^[16]

[edit] Toomer's Corner

The intersection of Magnolia and College streets in Auburn, which marks the transition from downtown Auburn to the university campus, is known as Toomer's Corner. It is named after Toomer's Drugs, a small store on the corner that has been an Auburn landmark for over 150 years. Hanging over the corner are two massive old-growth oak trees, and anytime anything good happens concerning Auburn, toilet paper can usually be found hanging from the trees. Also known as "rolling the corner," this tradition is thought to have originated in the 1950s and until the mid 1990s was relegated to only to celebrating athletic wins. However, in recent years it has become a way to celebrate anything good that happens concerning Auburn.

In April 2007, it was reported that the landmark trees at Toomer's Corner are dying due to "years of abuse".^[17] While it is difficult to determine how long the trees have left, plans are already being made to replace the historic tree with another live oak when the day comes.

[edit] "War Eagle"

Main article: War Eagle

There are many stories surrounding the origins of Auburn's battle cry, "War Eagle." The most popular account involves the first Auburn football game in 1892 between Auburn and the University of Georgia. According to the story, in the stands that day was an old Civil War soldier with an eagle that he had found injured on a battlefield and kept as a pet. The eagle broke free and began to soar over the field, and Auburn began to march toward the Georgia end-zone. The crowd began to chant, "War Eagle" as the eagle soared. After Auburn won the game, the eagle crashed to the field and died but, according to the legend, his spirit lives on every time an Auburn man or woman yells "War Eagle!" The battle cry of "War Eagle" also functions as a greeting for those associated with the University. For many years, a live golden eagle has embodied the spirit of this tradition. The eagle was once housed on campus in The Eagle's Cage (which was the second largest single-bird enclosure in the country), but the aviary was taken down in 2003 and the eagle moved to a nearby raptor center. The eagle, War Eagle VI (nicknamed "Tiger"), was trained in 2000 to fly free around the stadium before every home game to the delight of fans. The present eagle, War Eagle VII (nicknamed "Nova"), continues the tradition.

[edit] Wreck Tech Pajama Parade

The Wreck Tech Pajama Parade originated in 1896, when a group of mischievous Auburn ROTC cadets, determined to show up the more well-known engineers from Georgia Tech, sneaked out of their dorms the night before the football game between Auburn and Tech and greased the railroad tracks. According to the story, the train carrying the Georgia Tech team slid through town and didn't stop until it was halfway to the neighboring town of Loachapoka, Alabama, The Georgia Tech team was forced to walk the five miles back to Auburn and, not surprisingly, were rather weary at the end of their journey. This likely contributed to their 45–0 loss. While the railroad long ago ceased to be the way teams traveled to Auburn and students never greased the tracks again, the tradition continues in the form of a parade through downtown Auburn. Students parade through the streets in their pajamas and organizations build floats. This tradition has recently been renewed with Georgia Tech returning to Auburn's schedule after nearly two decades of absence.

[edit] Head coaches

†Defensive coordinator Bill Oliver coached the last five games of the 1998 season after Terry Bowden's resignation.

[edit] Award winners

A number of Auburn players and coaches have won national awards, including 62 players being named as college football All-Americans. The Tigers also have eleven coaches and players that have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Indiana.

[edit] Hall of Fame

[edit] National Awards

Players

Coaches

[edit] All-Americans

[edit] Tigers in the NFL

Ronnie Brown was the #2 pick in the 2005 NFL Draft

There have been 237 Auburn players drafted into the National Football League, with 15 earning 30 All-Pro honors, 27 making Pro Bowl appearances, and 23 playing in the Super Bowl.

The Dow Jones College-Football Success Index ranked Auburn as the eighth best program in the nation, with the second highest Draft Value which indicate "that a school's players perform better than NFL scouts seem to expect".^[25] Auburn is tied (with Miami) for second most Top 5 NFL Draft picks this decade, and have The Plains have produced 25 first round draft picks overall.

[edit] Runningback U

Cadillac Williams evades a tackler.

Auburn currently has ten former running backs currently playing that position in the NFL (see below). They carry on a long legacy of top NFL backs from Auburn such as Tucker Frederickson, William Andrews, Joe Cribbs, James Brooks, Lionel James, Brent Fullwood, Tommie Agee and Bo Jackson. Over the last 20 years (1987-2007 Draft), there have been 15 Tiger running backs drafted into the NFL, with several more successfully signing as undrafted free-agents.

[edit] Current NFL players

There are a number of former Auburn players currently listed on NFL rosters. These players include seven running backs, seven linebackers, five wide receivers, two tight ends, five cornerbacks, one quarterback, one placekicker and fifteen linemen including four nose tackle, five guards, five tackles and three defensive ends.

[edit] 2008 NFL Draft

The following former Tigers were drafted in the most recent NFL Draft:

[edit] Hall of Fame

[edit] Awards

[edit] Bowl history

Auburn football teams have been invited to participate in 34 total bowls and have garnered a record of 19–13–2.

[edit] Miscellaneous facts

This article or section resembles a fan site. Please help improve this article by removing excessive trivia and irrelevant praise, criticism, lists and collections of links.(June 2008)

As of January 9, 2008

• Auburn's largest win came November 17, 1894 against Georgia Tech (94-0) in Atlanta.
• Auburn's largest loss also came against Georgia Tech (68-7) in Atlanta on November 29, 1917.
• The most points scored against a current SEC team came November 3, 1917 against Florida (68-0).
• The most points scored by a current SEC team against Auburn came November 16, 1996, in a 56-49 loss to Georgia in four overtimes. The most points scored against Auburn in regulation occurred on December 4, 1948, in a 55-0 loss to Alabama.
• Auburn has had 60 games in which they have scored over 50 points, with the most recent on September 22, 2007 against New Mexico State (55-20).
• Auburn has only given up more than 50 points in regulation seven times, the most recent on October 19, 1996, in a 51-10 loss to Florida in Gainesville.
• The last time Auburn shut out an opponent came November 4, 2006 with a 27-0 win versus Arkansas State.
• The last time Auburn was shut out by an opponent came August 30, 2003, with a 23-0 loss to USC.
• Auburn currently holds the second best record in SEC play since 2000^[26], and has won 28 of their last 34 SEC matchups including 14 of the last 17 SEC road games. The Tigers have also been the most successful SEC West team in league play since the conference realignment in 1992 (in terms of winning percentage).^[27]
• Auburn enjoys a 15–9 record versus top-10 opponents since the 2000 season, and have won 9 of their last 12.
• Auburn's home record is 14–2 in night games since the 2000 season.
• Auburn has won 15 of their last 16 games when wearing all-white uniforms.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Auburn Tigers football

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